Meghalaya CM Conrad K Sangma invokes father's legacy as GHADC makes history on tribal polls

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said he sought the blessings of his late father, Purno A Sangma, before backing what he described as one of the most defining decisions of his political career — ensuring that only Scheduled Tribe members can contest elections to the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council.

"He always taught us to stand firm for what is right and to keep our people first," Conrad wrote on social media after the amendment was passed on March 23. "May we continue to walk in his footsteps."

The Chief Minister, who has long championed the cause of tribal identity in Meghalaya, called the moment historic — not just for the GHADC, but for the Garo people as a whole. "History has been made today," he said, adding that it had taken 74 long years since the council's establishment in 1952 for this moment to arrive.

Conrad also used the occasion to call on the Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Councils to follow suit. "I urge KHADC and JHADC to also pass the amendment in the true spirit of tribal identity," he said.

The amendment itself was passed unanimously during a special session of the GHADC convened by Governor C H Vijayashankar on Monday, formally mandating ST certification for all council election candidates. It brings to a close a demand that tribal groups had pressed for over seven decades.

The backdrop to Monday's decision was far from calm. Weeks of protests and ethnic unrest had gripped parts of Garo Hills over the issue of non-tribal participation in council polls, turning violent at points and claiming at least two lives. The state government had deferred GHADC elections, originally set for April 10, and extended the council's tenure by six months to allow the process to be completed.

For Conrad, however, March 23 was less about the turbulence that preceded it and more about the man whose counsel he said had guided him through it — his father, the late Purno A Sangma, former Lok Sabha Speaker and one of the most towering figures in Meghalaya's political history.